Motion is a topic that affects our every day lives, is occuring all around and, and will continue to occur and affect us as we go through life. Making a topic like this meaningful to students is a matter of getting them to understand that scientifically speaking, motion is a concept that explains the movement of everything in this world. By learning about motion, we can build a foundation to understand why objects fall, how the planets orbit the sun, and why we jerk forward when a car comes to an abrupt stop. By making these personal connections for the students, they will be more engaged in learning about this topic.
In order for students to successfully understand the learning outcomes addressed in this unit, I sequenced lessons so new material builds off previous material. Developing a knowledge base on describing motion and measuring motion, supported by manipulating objects, we can then move on to measuring motion in scalar and vector quantities. Once we address the ways to measure motion and the concepts of changing position, understanding the changes in velocity (acceleration) will bring it all together and reinforce the significance of motion in our lives.
Teaching in a sequential order will help students understand the concepts and apply the material, and by applying the material through activities, labs and presentations will further assist the students in making sense of the material. Continuous formative assessment of student learning through observation and inquiry, will allow me to address misconceptions and help students further understand what they may be missing. Formal assessment throughout the unit, such as homework assignments, tests, and lab reports, will allow students to apply the knowledge they've learned both critically and practically, while allowing me to evaluate understanding.
Throughout the unit there are a variety of warm-up questions, activities and labs for students to complete that will help foster their inquiry. I will ask questions in the warm-up to get my students thinking about such things as describing motion, providing evidence to support their answers, and relating the concepts to their lives. Activities and labs will allow students to use their hands and manipulate possibilities when it comes to how objects move in different situations.
Furthermore, students will have the opportunity to activate prior knowledge and apply past experiences to this unit through warm-up questions and inquiry activities. I feel that these types of activities will engage students in learning actively and give them experiences to hold on to. This will allow them to go beyond memorizing and into understanding, applying and analyzing.
In order for students to successfully understand the learning outcomes addressed in this unit, I sequenced lessons so new material builds off previous material. Developing a knowledge base on describing motion and measuring motion, supported by manipulating objects, we can then move on to measuring motion in scalar and vector quantities. Once we address the ways to measure motion and the concepts of changing position, understanding the changes in velocity (acceleration) will bring it all together and reinforce the significance of motion in our lives.
Teaching in a sequential order will help students understand the concepts and apply the material, and by applying the material through activities, labs and presentations will further assist the students in making sense of the material. Continuous formative assessment of student learning through observation and inquiry, will allow me to address misconceptions and help students further understand what they may be missing. Formal assessment throughout the unit, such as homework assignments, tests, and lab reports, will allow students to apply the knowledge they've learned both critically and practically, while allowing me to evaluate understanding.
Throughout the unit there are a variety of warm-up questions, activities and labs for students to complete that will help foster their inquiry. I will ask questions in the warm-up to get my students thinking about such things as describing motion, providing evidence to support their answers, and relating the concepts to their lives. Activities and labs will allow students to use their hands and manipulate possibilities when it comes to how objects move in different situations.
Furthermore, students will have the opportunity to activate prior knowledge and apply past experiences to this unit through warm-up questions and inquiry activities. I feel that these types of activities will engage students in learning actively and give them experiences to hold on to. This will allow them to go beyond memorizing and into understanding, applying and analyzing.
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